CereTom® CT Machine with Centipede Belt Drive
Looking first at FIGS. 1-4, there is shown a CereTom® CT machine 5 made by Neurologica Corp. of Danvers, MA. CereTom® CT machine 5 is a relatively small, mobile CT machine which is intended to be brought to the patient so that the patient can be scanned at the patient's current location, rather than requiring that the patient be transported to the location of a CT machine, so as to facilitate more rapid and/or more convenient scanning of the patient.
CereTom® CT machine 5 generally comprises a torus 10 which is supported by a base 15. A center opening 20 is formed in torus 10. Center opening 20 receives the patient anatomy which is to be scanned by CereTom®CT machine 5. Inasmuch as CereTom® CT machine 5 is designed to be as small and mobile as possible, and inasmuch as CereTom® CT machine 5 is intended to be used extensively for stroke diagnosis applications, center opening 20 is configured to be just slightly larger than the head of a patient.
Looking next at FIG. 3, torus 10 of CereTom® CT machine 5 generally comprises an X-ray tube assembly 25, an X-ray detector assembly 30, and a rotating drum assembly 35. X-ray tube assembly 25 and X-ray detector assembly 30 are mounted to rotating drum assembly 35 in diametrically-opposed relation, such that the X-ray beam 40 (generated by X-ray tube assembly 25 and detected by X-ray detector assembly 30) is passed through the patient anatomy which is disposed in center opening 20. Significantly, inasmuch as X-ray tube assembly 25 and X-ray detector assembly 30 are mounted on rotating drum assembly 35 so that they rotate concentrically about center opening 20, X-ray beam 40 will be passed through the patient's anatomy along a full range of radial positions, so as to enable CereTom® CT machine 5 to create a visual rendition of the scanned anatomy using computerized tomography algorithms of the sort well known in the art.
Still looking at FIG. 3, the various electronic hardware and software for controlling the operation of X-ray tube assembly 25, X-ray detector assembly 30, and rotating drum assembly 35, as well as for processing the acquired scan data so as to generate the desired visual rendition of the scanned anatomy, are located in torus 10 and/or base 15.
Looking next at FIGS. 3 and 4, base 15 of CereTom® CT machine 5 comprises a transport assembly 50 for moving the CereTom® CT machine 5 relative to the patient. More particularly, transport assembly 50 comprises a gross movement mechanism 55 for moving CereTom® CT machine 5 relatively quickly across room distances, and a fine movement mechanism 60 for moving CereTom® CT machine 5 precisely, relative to the patient, during scanning. Gross movement mechanism 55 preferably comprises a plurality of casters 62, and fine movement mechanism 60 preferably comprises a plurality of centipede belt drives 63. Hydraulic apparatus 65 permits either gross movement mechanism 55, or fine movement mechanism 60, to be engaged with the floor, whereby to facilitate appropriate movement of CereTom® CT machine 5. Thus, with CereTom® CT machine 5, the CT machine may be pre-positioned in an “out of the way” location in an emergency room and then, when a patient requires scanning, the patient may be scanned right at their bedside, by quickly moving the CT machine to the patient's bedside on gross movement mechanism 55 (e.g., casters 62), and thereafter moving the machine during scanning on fine movement mechanism 60 (e.g., centipede belt drives 63).
Looking again at FIG. 3, base 15 also includes other system components in addition to those discussed above, e.g., batteries 70 for powering various electrical components of CereTom® CT machine 5, etc.
As noted above, the various components of CereTom® CT machine 5 are engineered so as to provide a relatively small and mobile CT machine. As a result, CereTom® CT machine 5 is particularly well suited for use in stroke diagnosis applications. More particularly, since CereTom® CT machine 5 is constructed so as to be a small, mobile unit, it can be pre-positioned in the emergency room of a hospital and then quickly moved to the bedside of a patient when scanning is required, rather than requiring the patient to be transported to a radiology department for scanning. Furthermore, the patient can be scanned while remaining on their hospital bed or gurney, since CereTom® CT machine 5 moves relative to the patient during scanning. This is extremely beneficial, since it eliminates transport delays and hence significantly reduces the time needed to scan the patient, which can be extremely important in timely diagnosing a potential stroke victim.
Further details regarding the construction and use of CereTom® CT machine 5 are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,175,347, 7,637,660, 7,568,836, 7,963,696, 7,438,471, 7,397,895, 7,396,160 and 7,736,056, which patents are hereby incorporated herein by reference.